Bayer Leverkusen- The Path to Power

Both top quality players, Jung especially imo. Good start

In what must come as a shock to Pep Guardiola, talented young center midfielder Sebastian Rode has snubbed contracts from both Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich in order to sign for Bayer Leverkusen. Rode cost Leverkusen a pretty penny, 4.2M pounds, but it very well could be worth it, as Rode is one of Germany’s brightest talents. The 22 year old will fit perfectly into the Leverkusen midfielder, behind two very explosive wingers in Sidney Sam and Heung-Min-Son. Frankfurt accepted offers from Wolfsburg, Bayern Munchen, and leverkusen for Rode, but instead of going with Europe’s best football club, Rode chose Leverkusen. When asked about his decision, Rode told reporters that “ I wanted to play for the world’s best manager, and that’s Jupp Heynckes. There’s not one other coach who will train me better than he will” Heynckes, 68, was the manager of Bayern Munchen before stepping down last season after a historic treble. Sebastian Jung’s transfer however, looks to be off, as the fee looks too steep at the current moment. However, Heynckes confirmed after the presentation of Rode that his signing was not the last signing. According Heynckes, many more signings are to come, and he hinted at a new attacking midfielder coming in to play behind last year’s Bundesliga top scorer, Stefan Kiessling. The Bundesliga season August 10th, where Bayer Leverkusen and Sebastian Rode will face off at Hertha Berlin, where Adrian Ramos will look to improve off a stellar 2012-2013 season.

I confess, I thought Rode would do the opposite. Great signing

As expected, Jupp Heynckes has gotten his feet wet in this transfer window, as he confirmed both his second and third signings today, both coming from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg. Valon Berisha and Alan were those two transfers, coming for fees of 1.3M and 2.3M respectively. The first signing, Valon Berisha confirmed our suspicions, as Jupp Heynckes did mention buying a CAM this window in one of his press conferences. Berisha, a talented CAM of just 20 years, will not be featuring this season for Leverkusen, as immediately after his transfer, he was loaned out back to Red Bull Salzburg, so he can get one more season abroad before jumping into the Bundesliga limelight. Berisha is a wonderful passer and dribbler, and his ability to create something out of nothing is one of his primary talents. If he continues growing like he is now, Berisha could become a crucial player for Leverkusen in the future. The next signing is more for the current moment, as Alan joins to back-up Stefan Kiessling. Alan, Brazilian, is a very clinical finisher, and at 24, and he still has room to grow. The young Brazilian scored 11 goals in 14 games last year and had 4 goals in 2 games this year before flying to Leverkusen to join Jupp Heynckes new look football club. Alan will be on 34.5K a week while Valon Berisha will be on 9k per week, while Alan is valued at 3M and Valon Berisha is valued at 875K

Nice signings. I know both were quality on FM13 but I've not seen much of them on 14. Hopefully, they work out as planned!

Nice signings

Some very good signings there mate

Well, the preseason is finished, and our squad looks set to take the Bundesliga by storm. The preseason was very strong on the whole, but it was tarnished by a devastating result for the last game of preseason. Overall, I think the transfers were really solid, but we did have to sell two players in order to finance our Salzburg raid though. I think we can finish 2nd this season if we stay consistent, but that's all in the future. Right now, all we have to do is prepare for our game against Hertha, away from home.

Nice results, although the one against AC Milan is concerning. Interesting tactic, I don't like the 4-2-3-1 personally, but others have had plenty of success with it. As well, you only have one player with attack mentality, and the majority in support. Also, playing one regular winger and one inverted winger is interesting, too. I'm sure you have the players to pull it off, though.